He ran for the Ontario legislature as a Liberal in the provincial election of 1975, but lost to Progressive Conservative Tom Wells in Scarborough North by about 3,000 votes.
[2] Phillips tried again in the provincial election of 1987 in the riding of Scarborough—Agincourt this time defeating his nearest opponent, David Kho of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) by over 12,000 votes.
On September 29, 1987, Phillips was appointed Minister of Citizenship, with responsibility for race relations, multiculturalism and the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
[7] Many suspected that Phillips would run for the party's leadership when Lyn McLeod resigned in 1996, but he declined and supported Gerard Kennedy, who lost to Dalton McGuinty on the final ballot.
He was re-elected in 1999 by nearly 3,000 votes defeating Tory MPP Jim Brown whose own nearby riding of Scarborough West was abolished in the lead-up to the election.
Phillips helped lead the fight for a public inquiry into the 1995 shooting death of protester Dudley George by members of the Ontario Provincial Police.